A Cowgirl's Pride (13 page)
Authors: Lorraine Nelson
She reached up, her arms going around his neck
to draw his head closer, and kissed him fully on the lips. “Good night, Cal.
Sweet dreams.”
“Of you…always. Stand back so you don’t catch a
chill.”
He turned on the outside light and peered through
the window before opening the door, waiting on the porch until he heard the
lock click into place. It sure seemed like a long, lonely walk to the bunkhouse
after cuddling with Leah all evening. Maybe the cold air would serve to kill
his ardor so he’d be able to sleep.
Sweet
dreams, she’d said. Ha! He’d be lucky if he slept at all with the memory of that
last, sweet kiss occupying his mind.
* * * *
Leah locked the door and rested her back against
it, listening to
footsteps recede as he walked into the night. She’d enjoyed his company
tonight…really enjoyed it. Maybe a little too much.
She honestly thought he’d be better off making a
life for himself with someone else, but he appeared to think along different
lines. He knew she was pregnant, yet still desired her. Of course, he wasn’t
aware of the way she’d spent most of her time away either. She’d been on birth
control pills the entire time, but apparently, that wasn’t a failsafe method.
Roddy hadn’t loved her at all if he could abuse
her the way he did. To him, she was just another of his possessions…a pretty
bauble to show off the success he’d achieved. No more. That life was behind her,
and she’d do whatever it took to see him behind bars.
The phone rang shrilly in the late night quiet
of the kitchen, and she about jumped out of her skin as she removed the
container of milk from the fridge. It only rang once, so Luke must have picked
up in the other room. She grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, poured it full
of milk, latched onto the cookie jar, and sat at the table. These bedtime
binges were going to add extra pounds real quick if she didn’t get a handle on
them. Food—life’s reliable panacea. She giggled and rubbed her belly. “Are you
craving cookies and milk, sweetheart? Or is it just my knowing that your auntie
is such a great cook?”
“They say talking to yourself is the first sign
of insanity,” Luke said as he entered the room smiling.
“Huh! What do
they
know? And besides, I was talking to the baby.”
“Okay. That’s all right then.” He poured himself
a glass of milk and joined her at the table, filching the cookie jar in the
process.
“Hey! Give that back. The baby’s still hungry.”
Luke snorted a laugh as he took a few cookies
and pushed the container back toward her. “Baby my ass! You always did have a
sweet tooth.”
“Yeah, but now I have a good reason to indulge.”
She smiled and took a bite. “And these are delicious. Just what the doctor
ordered.”
“I doubt that, but enjoy.”
“Don’t worry. I will. Who called?”
“Michael.”
“And?”
His expression turned serious, thoughtful. He
finished his cookie and took a long swallow of milk before answering. “He ran the
‘Sheriff’s’
fingerprints.”
“Does he have a record?”
“Yes, a long one. Most recently, he’s been
suspected of being a hitman for hire.”
“What? If that’s the case, why isn’t he locked
up?”
“Well, for one, he died on the way to the
hospital. Besides that, he covered his tracks well. No evidence left behind at
any of the crime scenes, except for the sheriff whose uniform he stole along
with the man’s ID.”
“Oh! I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead, but I
wouldn’t have wished that on him.” She frowned. “Did he kill the sheriff, too?”
“Yes, and there’s more.” His gaze rose to meet
hers, sympathy and concern in the sapphire depths. “Michael was relieved that
you couldn’t identify his ex-partner and called to fill him in on his concerns
about the real sheriff. He also brought him up-to-date on what Roddy’s been up
to. That’s when he found out about your friend, the one that helped you get
away.”
“Delores Ramey? What about her?”
“She was found dead in her apartment.”
“What? When?”
“Today. Apparently, her sister hadn’t heard from
her for a few days and dropped in to check on her. She’d been stabbed to death.
I’m sorry, Leah.”
“Oh. My. God! It’s because of me, isn’t it?
Roddy found out she helped me and killed her.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, I do. That slimy bastard! Did they find
her cell phone?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
“Well, that would explain how he found me so
fast. I bet he saw the long distance number and had someone check it out.”
“Could be, but you called Dad’s place, not
here.”
“It wouldn’t take much to find the Manning ranch
once he knew what area.”
“True enough. I’ll let Michael know about her
phone.”
“Damn! Delores didn’t deserve to die. She
might’ve been a stripper, but she was a decent person. She had heart. You
know?”
“Yes, I know. I’m thankful she helped you get
away, or it might’ve been your body found today.”
A shudder, violent and painful, wracked her body
with fear, and she shook uncontrollably. Leah felt powerless to prevent the
loud sobs as she cried for her friend and for the situation she was in.
Luke was at her side in an instant. He pulled
her to her feet and gave her a gentle shake. “Leah! Snap out of it! There’s
nothing you can do for her. You’re safe here.”
“Am I, Luke? Are you? Are the children? I hate
that I’ve put everyone in danger.”
“Nonsense! We’re safe here. They’ll get him and
nail his hide to the wall. Just you wait and see.”
“When, Luke? How long will we have to wait and
see?”
“I don’t have an answer for that, honey, but I
sure wish I did.”
Chapter Eight
Leah heard a vehicle pull up next to the house.
Its lights flashed off and on twice, and Luke went to the door.
“What was that all about?”
“Michael felt we should have some kind of signal
after dark before coming to the door.”
“Makes sense, but what if we weren’t sitting in
the kitchen? We’d never have noticed.”
“Good point. We’ll work something else out.”
Luke waited for the light knock before unlocking
the door and opening it to admit Michael.
“Sorry I’m so late.”
“No problem. We were just having a snack. Care
to join us?”
“Sure. Where’s Mom?”
“She and Dad went up to bed already. So did
Zakia. Did you need to see her about something?”
“Nope, it’s just habit to see her in the
kitchen. Seems strange that she’s not here.” He smiled and turned to Leah. “How
are you holding up?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess. Did you
find out anything else?”
“Yeah, the day Roddy and his friends showed up
here, he reported his car stolen. It was found in an underground parking
garage.”
“That figures. I knew he must’ve had something
planned to cover his tracks. What else?”
“Vancouver PD’s Internal Affairs is checking out
that list of names you provided. No news yet on that front, though. They’re
trying to be as discreet as possible so as to not set off any alarms.”
“I understand. Poor Delores. I feel sorry for
her, and for her sister finding her like that.”
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
“She wasn’t really a friend, not in the true
sense, although she did help me escape. We worked together but didn’t socialize
away from the club.”
“The good news is, she had sexual intercourse
before she died, tore her up pretty bad. I’m waiting on the
“That sounds like something he’d do. Is Roddy’s
“No, but it’s all part of building a case. Once
IA finishes their investigation, my buddy will obtain a search warrant for
bones. If there’s anything left of Alex, the crime scene specialists will find
it. Then we’ll have
Leah shuddered. “On that happy note, I think
I’ll grab a book and head up to bed. Can I borrow your key, Luke?”
“Sure. I’ll come unlock it for you.”
“Okay. Good night, Michael.”
“Nite, Princess!” he said with a grin.
She let out a shaky laugh as she followed Luke,
grabbed a book, and went upstairs. When her eyes threatened to close, she got
ready for bed and crawled between the sheets, her thoughts straying to
evening they’d shared. She wished he was beside her, holding her close and
keeping the fear at bay. Remembering their heated embrace didn’t help sleep
come any faster. She lay there, tossing and turning, aching for completion. If
she wasn’t so damned scared, she’d go to the bunkhouse and wake him up. Then
she giggled. Wouldn’t the wranglers get a kick out of that?
* * * *
Awakened by the frantic barking of Luke’s dog,
Rounder, Cal dressed quickly and slipped out into the quiet of predawn. His gun
at the ready, he moved steadily in the direction of the noise. As he crept
along the side of the barn, Rounder’s bark became louder. He pushed onward,
moving with silent stealth toward the far end. At first, he couldn’t see
Rounder let alone what she was barking at, but as the moon cleared the dense
clouds, he was able to zero in on her.
Rounder was about twenty feet ahead, along the
trail leading to the creek—a trail they kept clear for the horses. It looked as
though she had chased some kind of animal up a tree. She stood on her back
legs, her front paws scratching frantically at the tree trunk. Whatever was up
there, that old dog sure wanted a piece of it.
He was about to call the dog off when he heard a
man’s voice, low yet firm.
“Go, get away! Leave me alone.”
headed his way then ran back to the tree, keeping the man cornered until
“Well now, what do we have here?” he asked,
pulling a mini flashlight out of his pocket and shining it full on the man’s
craggy-looking face. “Identify yourself, mister, and you’d better have a good
reason for trespassing.”
“I was just out snowshoeing when I was attacked
by this dog.”
“Try again. I ain’t buying.”
“Look down there, you’ll see my snowshoes. Had to
drop them in order to climb the tree. It wasn’t easy with your dog pulling at
me.”
“Rounder, guard,” Cal said before walking
forward and shining the light on the ground beneath the tree. Sure enough,
there was a pair of snowshoes. “Okay, so you were snowshoeing. That still
doesn’t tell me who you are and what you’re doing here in the middle of the
night.”
The man paused and gave him a hard stare. “The
name’s Erickson, Trent Erickson. Can you call off your dog?”
“Rounder, sit. Good girl.” The dog sat quietly
but never left her position near the tree base.
house. “You can climb down now.”
“Thanks.”
Rounder growled a warning as the man reached the
ground. The stranger turned his back to the tree, keeping a wary eye on Rounder.
moves.”
“Can I grab my snowshoes?”
“Later. Start walking.”
anything that could serve as a weapon.
As they approached the house, he saw Michael
through the kitchen window.
the door.
“Hey,
Who have you got with you?”
“Luke’s dog was kind enough to round up a
trespasser. He says his name is Trent Erickson. He was out snowshoeing and
happened to end up here, but that’s all I could get out of him.”
“Mr. Erickson, what brings you to the Thunder
Creek Ranch?”
“What’s the big deal? I was snowshoeing…good
exercise.”
“Uh, huh.
It sure is, especially at five o’clock in the morning. Let me see some ID.”
“What for?”
“Because I requested it, and if you don’t
produce I’ll haul your ass down to the station and book you for trespassing.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Constable Michael Grayson, R.C.M.P., at your
service.”